Arancello (like Limoncello, but with oranges) Steps One and Two

A few years ago, sipping bubbly under a friend's backyard lemon tree on a lovely Berkeley day, I was inspired by another of the group to try making Limoncello. It's absolutely amazing when made with the Meyer lemons from that tree. After a couple of batches of that, I wondered if the red-tinged peel of blood oranges would make the liqueur a lovely pink color. They didn't, but they made a liqueur that was even more delicious. Turns out, blood oranges are the traditional fruit used to make Arancello. The process is super simple, just a bit time-consuming. If you can take the time, though, it keeps for a really long time so you'll have lovely hostess and holiday gifts on hand, as well as a lovely bottle or two to keep for yourself. 

Blood oranges are usually in season from January until March, so that's the time to start a batch. If it's not that time of year, or you're in a part of the country where you can't find them, you can use any kind of orange or go with lemons. Lucky for me, the season seems to be longer this year. 

Traditionally, each step takes 40 days. I've always done about a month. Earlier this year, I tried a week for the first step and I didn't like the results, since I know how good it is when you let it be for longer!

Here's what you need for step one:

• 10-12 small to medium blood oranges, washed well (I found some extra large, extra red ones, so I used about 9. You could also use lemons, since they're available year round). 
• 1.5 liters good but not crazy-expensive vodka. This is two regular bottles or one large one. (You can also use 100 proof vodka or a combination of vodka and grain alcohol. This makes it nice and boozy.*)
• a 1 gallon jar or two (two is better for the transition to step 2 and step 3. I have a bunch of jars that are supposed to be 3 liters each and should fit this, but they seem to be a little shy of that.)

*I live in CA, where liquor laws dictate that grain alcohol sold is only 150 proof. If you live in a state where it's 190 proof, you may want to mix it with regular 80 proof vodka rather than 100 proof. 

Remove the zest (the orange part of the peel) from the oranges. You can do this with a regular vegetable peeler as in the top of the photo, just make sure you don't get any of the bitter white pith into the booze.

I've also used a citrus zester instead, the thingy below. I might not know such a thing existed if my mom didn't love giving me small tools like this from the kitchen shop to see if I know what they are! This is also why I own a brownie spatula. 

The zester takes away less pith than the peeler, and it seems like the smaller pieces of zest should give up the flavor all the faster, no? I think it leaves quite a bit behind, though. 

This amount of white pith on the peel is just fine. Put this one right in the jar!

This amount of white pith on the peel is too much. If a piece looks like this, gently slide a paring knife under the white to remove it from the good stuff. 

Put the zest into the glass jar with the alcohol. Let sit for 1 month to 40 days, depending on your schedule and your level of patience.

You only need the zest, not the juice or pulp. Put the zested oranges in the fridge so they don't dry out too fast. Juice them or make smoothies with them. The season only lasts a couple of months, so enjoy them while you can! Blood orange margaritas, anyone?

Add the vodka to the jar with the peels. Close the jar and give it a swirl to make sure all the peels are getting exposed to the vodka. 

Set it in a cool, darkish place for a month to 40 days. 

Once a week, give the jar another swirl. 

This pic shows the change in color after the peels have been steeping for a month. It's now ready for step 2!


What you actually have at this step is blood orange vodka - also really yummy! You could just filter it to keep it there, or you can add the simple syrup to complete the arancello. 

Mix granulated sugar and water to make a simple syrup. Bring to a boil and simmer 2-5 minutes until the sugar is all dissolved. I usually use raw sugar as much as possible, but it will give the liqueur a more muddled, medicinal taste. Let cool to room temp before mixing with the alcohol. 

For 80 proof vodka, use 4 cups each. For 100 proof vodka, use 5 cups of each. For grain alcohol, use 6 cups each. 

Set up the second jar (or a couple of smaller jars) with a funnel and a damp coffee filter. You'll need just a few filters for this stage, replacing them when the dripping slows a lot or if a hole opens at the bottom. 

Remove the peels from the alcohol with a slotted spoon or a pair of kitchen tongs. Put them in a strainer over a bowl so the bowl will catch any alcohol that drips off. Pour that back into the jar. 

Pour the room-temp simple syrup into the vodka. I had -just- a little too much to fit into 1 three liter jar, so I was forced to get out a tester glass. Them's the breaks!

Set aside again for another month for the flavors to meld together and mellow out. 



With the 80 proof vodka, I'm not sure it'll need that second month, as it's pretty balanced already, but with the stronger alcohols it definitely will. 

White Bean and Veggie Soup

White Bean and Veggie Soup

(with optional ham)

You may be thinking by now that I don't make much healthy food...while the last couple of weeks have been filled with treats and stress eating, this is the kind of cooking I do more regularly.  I keep cans of white beans on hand for times when I need to make something fast, but today I cooked up a pot of white beans that will serve for at least two recipes. This makes about 4 quarts of soup, enough for a big group or to have lunches or dinners most of the week for just lil' ol' me. It freezes well, so I'll probably pop some in the freezer for next week. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

1. 3 cups cooked white beans (canned is OK if you rinse them). 
2. (Optional) 6 oz diced smoked ham - you could add a piece of Parmesan rind if you want to keep it veggie, or smoked tofu to keep it vegan
3. 1 medium onion (or 1/2 onion and one small leek - the leeks at the market today were beautiful, so that's what I used), diced
4. about 4 medium carrots and 2-4 stalks of celery (I tend to go easy on celery so it doesn't overpower the other stuff)
5. 1/2 cup white wine or 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
6. 1/2-1 tsp dried thyme or a sprig of rosemary, to taste
7. 1 14-16 oz can diced tomatoes in juice, low-salt or no-salt preferred
8. 4 cups veggie or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
9. 2 cups chopped greens (chard, kale, or grownup spinach - baby spinach is too soft)
10. optional: parsley leaves and/or grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese for serving

First, prep your veggies. Wash them well, rinsing out any sand in the leek if you're using one, and finely chop the onion and the white and light green part of the leek. Save the dark green part for making broth. 

Dice the carrots and celery into pieces about the same size as your beans. You can peel the carrots if that's how you roll, but I stopped doing that long ago.

Put 1 Tbsp olive oil and the leeks and onion in a 5 qt or larger pot. Saute a couple of minutes until they start to soften, then add the carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another couple of minutes. Don't let them brown.

If using the ham, push the veggies aside and add 1/3 of the ham and 1 tsp oil to the side of the pot. If using smoked tofu or Parmesan rind, just toss them in. 

Saute the 2 oz of ham for a minute before stirring into the veggies. Set aside the rest of the ham to add toward the end - that way you'll have some of the flavor in the soup, but you'll still have flavorful pieces of ham in the finished product. It's such a bummer when you add it all at the beginning and the flavor all gets cooked out! 

Now add the white wine or vinegar - in a rare turn of events I didn't want to open a bottle tonight, so I put in the vinegar. Dry Vermouth would also be OK, but not that ghastly "cooking wine". Stir in and let evaporate for a minute or two. Add the thyme or rosemary and the tomatoes. 

Fill the tomato can with water and add that water to the pot, too. 

Add the beans to the pot (some of the pot liquid is OK to add if you cooked them, but not the liquid from a can) and bring to a low boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the broth, bring back to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 20-30 minutes.

Taste for seasoning (salt, pepper, thyme). It should be a little undersalted if you're adding the rest of the ham.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Add the greens (I had some leftover cooked kale, so that's what I put today) and the rest of the ham. Simmer until the greens are cooked, 5-10 minutes.

That's it! If AH phase 1 or 2, serve with whatever you need to balance your meal. If AH phase 3, serve with whole meal bread or crackers. I'm going with whole grain crackers today, but I might whip up some biscuits later in the week. I busted out some of my nanna's pretty china for this photo, so I hope you like it!

Vanilla Madeleines, or How to impress people with minimal effort

I love to bake, and one of my favorite things to make is a batch of Madeleines. They're simple, delicious, and elegant, and they never fail to impress. As with many recipes I re-use, I've played around a bit to incorporate some whole wheat flour.

The only special equipment you need are a pair of Madeleine tins, available at kitchen stores or online for about $9-15 each. They're well worth the investment, as you'll use them over and over again. 

This recipe makes 24, another thing I had to play with a bit. 

Vanilla Whole-Wheat Madeleines

About an hour before you start, take the butter (1 and 1/2 sticks plus extra for the tins) and 3 eggs out of the fridge so they come to room temperature. If you forget to do this, it's not the end of the world. 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put one of the oven racks at the middle height. 

2. Prepare the tins with butter and all-purpose flour. Note: you can use a baking spray that's a mix of oil and flour, but I find that the spray mechanism tends to get clogged by the flour. Instead, take a piece of butter in your fingers and work it into the grooves of the shell shapes. Repeat with more small pieces of butter until each shell is well-coated. 

Put a little flour in each shell and shake the tins around in kind of a circle until the flour is evenly distributed. You can try skipping this step, but you might end up with 24 very stuck little cakes. Better safe than sorry!

Set the pans aside, preferably not on the stove because it should be getting warm by now. 

3. Cream the butter and sugar: Put 1 and 1/2 sticks of softened butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar into a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium about two minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, which means until it looks a bit like vanilla frosting. It might take a little longer than two minutes if you didn't soften the butter or if you use raw sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with  rubber or silicone scraper. Add 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1 and 1/4 tsp vanilla and beat one more time. 

4. Add, one at a time, 3 eggs, preferably pastured or from the farmer's market: First, crack one or all three into a glass container of some sort. This will allow you to make sure there are no little bits of shell remaining. Then add one egg at a time, beating for one minute and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. 

The batter is supposed to look smooth at this point, but mine always looks a little lumpy because my apartment is usually much cooler than the 73 degrees that "room temp" implies. If you put in the butter and eggs straight from the fridge, it'll look even lumpier. Not to worry, it'll turn out fine once you add the flour. 

5. By hand, whisk in 3/4 cup each of all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour* (total of 1 and 1/2 C flour). You can use all of one kind of flour or the other, but I like the flavor and texture of the blend. Also, if you get in small amounts of whole grains and other healthy things throughout the day, the nutrition adds up. 

6. Put an egg-shaped spoonful of batter in each shell in the tins. The batter should fill up more than half of the space, and will spread out as it bakes so don't worry about patting it down. It should work out to exactly 24, so if it doesn't, you can re-distribute as needed. Not that I've ever had to do that myself with cookie dough or anything...

7. Bake at 350 for a total of 15 minutes. For evenly colored Madeleines, set the timer for 7 minutes and 30 seconds, then turn the pans front to back and bake for another 7 min 30. 

8. Remove from the oven, let rest one minute, then turn Madeleines out of the tins and onto a wire rack to cool. Once they are cool to the touch, enjoy with coffee, tea or a lovely dessert wine. Don't worry if they have uneven edges. That's how people will know you really made them yourself instead of buying them. The Madeleines should keep in an airtight container for a few days, but if you take them to share with your co-workers, they won't last that long!

*White Whole Wheat flour is whole wheat flour made from soft white wheat, rather than the hard red wheat used to make most whole wheat flour. I find it more palatable for some recipes, and it's becoming pretty easy to find.